Teen football prospect signs with Bundesliga club

December 13, 2018

SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) — South Korean high school football prospect Cheon Seong-hun has signed with a first-division German club.

Cheon, striker for Incheon Daegun High School, which doubles as the under-18 feeder team for K League 1′s Incheon United, has agreed to a 4.5-year deal with FC Augsburg, Incheon said Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed under the agreement between Incheon and FC Augsburg.

Incheon said Cheon traveled to Germany in October and worked out with three clubs there, and FC Augsburg decided to make the 18-year-old the third South Korean in their system.

Forward Ji Dong-won and midfielder Koo Ja-cheol are on FC Augsburg’s first team.

Incheon United said the big striker, listed at 190 centimeters and 79 kilograms, has strong fundamentals and is equally adept at the ground game and aerial attack.

In a statement released by Incheon, Cheon said he’s looking forward to learning from Koo and Ji on the German team.

“I’ll try hard to make Incheon United and South Korea proud,” Cheon added.

Another Daegun High School product, Jeong Woo-yeong, is a prospect with the German giants Bayern Munich. The 19-year-old became the youngest South Korean to appear in a UEAF Champions League match last month.

In this photo provided by Incheon United football club on Dec. 13, 2018, Cheon Seong-hun (R), a forward on Incheon’s under-18 team, holds up a uniform for FC Augsburg, after signing a 4.5-year deal with the Bundesliga club. (Yonhap)